Culture Study Podcast

In this podcast, they discuss the rising trend of cold plunging, its potential benefits, and its journey from obscurity to mainstream. They explore the influence of social media and biohacking on its popularity, including the emergence of a 'bro culture.' The podcast also touches on the neuroscience behind cold plunging and the extremism of cold plunging on social media.

Michelle Cyca discusses the Mean Girls reboot trailer, questioning its appeal to Gen-Z without context, hiding it's a musical, and Tina Fey's uncancellable status. Analyzing the humor and problematic aspects of Mean Girls, they reflect on evolving perspectives and Tina Fey's humor. They explore the portrayal of the Mean Girls musical in the trailer and the trend of adapting films into musicals. The podcast also touches on the resurgence of early 2000s music, financial motivations for movie reboots, and why millennials love throwbacks.

Nicole Washington, with an abundance of knowledge about F1, joins the podcast to discuss the recent rise in popularity of Formula 1. They touch on topics such as the impact of reality TV shows on niche sports, getting started in F1 racing, the ethics of being a fan, and their favorite Formula One podcasts. They also delve into their thoughts on the TV show 'Drive to Survive' and reflect on a Britney documentary.

Philip Maciak, television critic for The New Republic, discusses Paw Patrol, addressing copaganda, plot laziness, gender representation in children's media, the gendering of dogs in the show, and critiques about the underfunding of public services. The episode also explores reducing the mental load of moms during the holiday season and the importance of sharing domestic labor and prioritizing as a family.

For the third episode of the Culture Study podcastEsteemed law professor Leah Litman, co-host of Strict Scrutiny, joins me and Melody to talk about all things TAYLOR + TRAVIS.Like: How did Taylor make the transition from big time pop star to BIGGEST POP STAR? How do we feel about the Matty Healy of it all? Is Travis Kelce interesting or is their relationship just interesting? Why do I feel so ambivalent about the prospect of Taylor getting married (and/or having kids)?? Show notes:The TikTok from the intro:All about Leah Litman!!!What It Takes To Be in the 1% — of Taylor Swift FansTalk to Me About Taylor Swift SweatshirtFollow Stevie the Mini GoldendoodleMelody’s Instagram where she posts honest book reviews in her stories“You’re Losing Me”The video for “White Horse”The 2014 era of “Taylor stepping out of her apartment” photos I referenceThe imagery of Folklore/Evermore:Some of Melody’s favorite SwiftTok influencers include:@tessdear is THE PLACE to go for Eras Tour livestreams@bryanlicious2 for an unhinged kind of humor@cowboy.han makes hilarious mash-ups of Taylor songs@mikael.arellano, creator of the Bejeweled dance, all-around wholesome fanI have a low tolerance for the “men react to Taylor Swift lyrics” genre, but the two exceptions are @hthaze and Darriel and Ashton@pokemonmasterzo’s hilarious videos are a great example of why I love this dumb app@invisibletheme for smart and well-researched queer analysisA primer on GaylorEaster Eggs on the Eras TourVideo for “You Need To Calm Down”A 2020 primer on Tree Paine (Swift’s publicist); Tree Paine vs. Deux MoiSwift’s bisexual pride flag wigA recap of Swift + Emily Dickinson“Why didn’t Jason bring jeans for Jason?”We’re currently looking for your questions for future episodes about:Very Contemporary Architecture Trends (like ‘modern farmhouse’) and/or wtf is going on with Chip & Joanna Gaines these days, why is their new show so banalHuberman HusbandsBooktok (think expansively here)ONLINE PURCHASE REVIEW CULTURE (as in: what motivates people to leave reviews? With photos? What makes a good review, what makes a worthless one?)Athleisure (also think expansively here)You can submit them (and ideas for future eps) here (and here’s the subscriber-only priority form)Now come hang out with us in the discussion — a few ideas to get us started:What’s your investment in Gaylor?Is Travis Kelce ACTUALLY INTERESTING?Is Leah right about Harry Styles?What do we do with these end game vibes?

This episode of the podcast explores topics such as the state of sidewalks, undoinng car dependencies, a power company in Vermont distributing batteries to customers, ready-to-fail water treatment plants, and the lack of good trains. Deb Chachra, author of How Infrastructure Works, joins the conversation to discuss the fascinating systems that shape our world. The episode also mentions the significance of septic systems and encourages listeners to share and support the podcast.

The podcast delves into the decline in clothing quality, the impact of overseas manufacturing, and deceptive advertising tactics by clothing companies. It suggests alternatives for finding affordable and high-quality wool sweaters and highlights the importance of seeking garments made in places of need. The concept of flattering clothing is explored, along with the challenges of shopping amidst the current fashion landscape. The podcast also introduces the Culture Study Podcast and its aim to explore various aspects of culture.

Friends! I am so thrilled to introduce THE CULTURE STUDY PODCAST.It’s like the Culture Study newsletter….but more esoteric, more casual, and (most of the time) a lot more funny. The format is pretty simple. We’re going to take the Culture Study ethos of everything is interesting and turn it on various cultural phenomena that beguile and annoy and fascinate and infuriate us.Like: why are clothes LIKE THIS right now?Or: what is the deal with F1?Or even: why is the Paw Patrol theme song that bad?Every week, a smart and knowledgable co-host will help me answer your questions about these cultural objects, trends, and mysteries.You can find the Culture Study Podcast wherever you get your podcasts — and you can also listen to it right here on Substack. (Sign up below to get notifications for new episodes, transcripts, and calls for questions for upcoming episodes).But you can also become a paid subscriber, which comes with perks:NO ADS! NO ADS! NO ADS!Sprawling weekly discussion threads for each episode (if you already subscribe to the Culture Study Newsletter, you know these are going to be great)A priority subscriber-only Google Form for your questions and future episode suggestionsAccess to the bonus “Ask AHP Anything” section at the end of each episodeHow Much Does a Subscription Cost?If you already subscribe to Culture Study: $3 a month/$30 a year (current subscribers, check your email or the Substack app for “Culture Study Podcast Promo” to get the link; new subscribers will get access to the promo link after they subscribe)If you just want to subscribe to the podcast: $5 a month/$50 a yearWhat Does That Subscription Pay For?Culture Study’s EDITOR, PRODUCER, AND CO-CREATOR Melody Rowell! I wanted to create a profit-sharing scenario where Melody — who is just as instrumental to this show’s success as I am — would also benefit equally from it. We’re sharing all proceeds 50/50 and will continue to do so as the show grows. Melody schedules guests, sifts through questions, helps with audio set-ups, drafts scripts, collects voice memos, makes people feel comfortable and most importantly: edits the show to make it listenable and smart and compelling.As soon as the podcast starts making money, we’re going to start paying guests for their time and labor — the goal is $500 an episode. We’ll keep you posted as we get closer to that goal!If a podcast seems like it doesn’t take a lot of work, that’s usually because it TAKES A LOT OF WORK. Dozens of people work on a podcast like The Daily. Their salaries are covered by a combination of ads and subscriptions. So we’re going to give that a try, only with the option to totally forgo ads (and get a lot of other good stuff) when you subscribe.Can I Talk To You About Advertising?We’d love that. We won’t accept advertising from any shady companies or anything even remotely related to diet-culture or TERF-ism or Trumpism or bigotry broadly defined. But if that’s not you, drop us a line at culturestudypodcast@gmail.com.We do accept advertising for smaller stuff, too: maybe you want to get the word out about your newsletter, podcast, or new book, and think the Culture Study audience would be a good fit. Email us! Let’s figure out a reasonable rate!We Still Need Your Questions for Future Episodes:Upcoming episodes in need of guiding questions include:Infrastructure (why is it the way it is?? why is it so hard to change?)Kevin Bacon’s InstagramThe Mean Girls reboot trailer (and reboots of millennial culture in general)WHY IS EARLY 2000S MUSIC SO POPULAR RIGHT NOWCold PlungingConservative Men’s Fashion TrendsOnline Mom Culture (like those groups freaking out about red dye)Buy Nothing GroupsCelebrity’s Weird PhilanthropiesAthleisureOrganization TikTokVeneersOnline Shopping / Sales / Why Are They The Way They AreGENERAL ADVICE QUESTIONS ABOUT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING (we answer these in the bonus section!)Submit your questions (or ideas for future episodes) here.And finally, don’t forget to subscribe — either right here or in your podcast app. That way you’ll get the first ep as soon as it drops a week from today. Melody and I can’t wait to go on this podcast journey with you — it’s going to lead us so many weird and hilarious places.